True Faith
Faith is a Numina... most people have faith with a small 'f', in that almost everybody accepts the Church's teachings quite uncritically. But only a small number have the burning zeal, the profound conviction, which can protect them against creatures like vampires. This Faith is not necessarily a skill to be increased through experience. Certainly it may rise as a result of a person's experience, but it is more vital than that. At the Storyteller's discretion, Faith should raise or fall to reflect a person's religious certainty and zeal. Nor is it something that comes from outside the individual, from some God or angel. Whether or not their beliefs are correct, these people believe so fervently that their own conviction protects them. Note, therefore, that heretics may have as much faith as devout Christians. Jews, Moslems and pagans can also have Faith, whether honoring Jehovah, Allah or the Goddess. Even an infernalist may have Faith in the dark spirits which she venerates. The Faith Numina, like any other, has a rating of 1 to 5. Exactly what protection is afforded to the individual by the Faith depends on this rating, as described below. Of course, these are just guidelines. Storytellers should amend them as required to fit the tone or add drama to their stories. * Any character with Faith may attempt to ward of vampires by brandishing a holy symbol or uttering prayers... The person rolls Faith against a difficulty equal to the vampires willpower. The number of successes indicate the number of steps backward a vampire is forced to take. If no successes are scored, the vampire need not step back, but may not advance. A botch indicates the vampire may advance unhindered. Further, if the cross, Bible or other symbol is placed against the vampires body, each success causes an aggravated Health Level of damage, burning into the flesh. ** A person with Faith rating of 2 or more is a 'neutral', immune to Dominate. *** A person with a Faith of 3 or more may sense the presence of a Vampire. She need not consciously try to sense the vampire's presence, but must be in peaceful, quiet surroundings - perhaps alone in thought, praying, reading pious books, meditating on the Bible, etc. The person will not sense the vampire if she is preoccupied (e.g. arguing) or in a crowded, noisy place (jostled by a mob, in the midst of a raucous banquet, etc.). This ability need not be infallible; the Storyteller should let the person sense the vampire only when it is dramatically convenient. Note that the person cannot know exactly what she senses through her faith, all she will know is that something unclean or evil is nearby. (Vampires may go no further) **** The person may not be turned into a ghoul, and is unaffected by any mind-bending techniques like Presence and Obfuscate. ***** The person is so pure, so holy, that she can fill a vampire with self-loathing, disgust, terror, even physical pain. Any vampire hearing the person pray, preach or recite psalms, or being touched by the person, may be forced to flee immediately by any available means. A vampire who is unable to flee is reduced to a gibbering wreck, flailing on the floor, screaming, sobbing, or begging forgiveness. To avoid fleeing, the vampire must either expend one Willpower per scene or must make a Stamina Roll each round (difficulty 5+ her own intelligence). That's right- the higher the vampires intelligence, the higher the difficulty, because the more tortured and guilty she will feel. Types of True Faith Manifestations Turning - the ability to turn away the undead and repel evil spirits from a person or place. System: True Faith Rating vs. Willpower of the target. The faithful concentrates on a holy symbol as a focus and displays it to the target forcing it back and reciting his deity's will to have the creature turn. Each success causes the being to take a step back. In cases of possession, each success deducts from the total amount of successes needed to inhabit the host, thereby weakening the possession. When all successes are cancelled, the host is completely rid of the possession. Laying of the Hands - the ability to heal the injured and infirm. System: True Faith Rating Difficulty of 6. Each success heals one Health Level of Damage regardless of type. In the case of disease or chemical abuse or poison 3 successes are needed to cleanse the target. The healer lays the hand on the subject and concentrates for a turn. If successful the source of the injury will appear on the healer. For example, one might start bleeding from a head injury the subject suffered. This causes no damage to the healer. Holy Aura - the ability to glow with the aura of your deity to incite fear in evil beings around you with your presence. This translates into Rotschreck and the flight response in Garou Frenzy. System: Activated by spending a turn of concentration on a holy focus. Those in sight of the holy must roll Willpower Difficulty 9 to resist the urge to flee or spend the number of Willpower points equal to the True Faith rating employed while the power is activated. The number of successes needed to resist the urge to flee on a roll are equal to the True Faith rating of the pious. Those that are around the pious will instinctively feel his holy nature. Fist of God - having a part of one's person or a weapon imbued with holy power to cause aggravated damage in an evil being. System: Activated by spending a turn of concentration on the weapon or part of the body charged. Each level of True Faith represents one automatic success of aggravated damage as with Potence. Damage is rolled as normal with the weapon used. Ranged combat weapons such as guns may not be imbued with Faith. Common physical manifestations may be that a sword would glow with the holy power or it might sing as it swipes through the air. Eyes of God - the immunity to illusions and supernatural powers such as Obfuscate, Blur of the Milky Eye, and Arcane. System: Each level of True Faith acts as Auspex to counter Obfuscate, Chimerstry, and subtracts from each level of Arcane. In the case of Garou Gifts such as Blur of the Milky Eye, it acts as a counter to the successes gained by the Garou upon rolling for activation of the Gift. In addition, it lowers perception difficulties at the rate of one per level of True Faith when the perceptions of the pious are being manipulated in any way by a supernatural. This power requires holding a holy focus in hand while attempting to perceive the supernatural. Holy Conviction - the ability to derive strength of will from one's deity. System: Each level of True Faith increases the difficulty of any Discipline, Gift, or Magickal effect that would subjugate the will of the faithful much like Iron Will. Should the difficulty increase beyond 10, then multiple successes are required. For example, a person with Holy Conviction Level 5 with a current Willpower of 8 would be at difficulty 10+3 successes for a total of 4 10's needed to subjugate them in a single roll. This power requires concentration on a holy focus. Gaining, Loosing Faith, and Regaining Faith Gaining True Faith is always a matter of role-playing. This means that the Character must have undergone a challenge to their tenet of faith and overcame it and therefore strengthened their resolve. For example, showing a hardened criminal on death row the path of the righteous and saving his soul. Whatever the case, gaining faith is a difficult and long road to travel. Loosing faith by contrast is remarkably easy. For game purposes consider any Character possessing the trait to have a Humanity of 10. Acting in any way contrary to the tenets of the faith will cause a loss of faith. For example, performing a laying of the hands for personal gain would be a strong reason to have faith stripped from your Character. Regaining faith is harder than gaining it in the first place. After all, your Character had a Divine gift and squandered it. In some cases, this is temporary as the Character experiences a Crises of Faith and must work diligently and piously to return to the good graces of the Divine. However, there are other cases in which a Character commits an atrocity either knowingly or unknowingly and has totally failed their tenets and has completely lost their tenet of faith and personal spiritual connection. In cases like these, there is virtually no hope of regaining their True Faith. A Character is either now a servant of evil, or simply is another of the flock who has been led astray and still worships his tenets despite not having the gift of True Faith. Imagine Biblical accounts of men of Faith who have been led astray by their own inner demons or external temptations. This is the drama of falling from Grace. A classic example would be the story of Adam and Eve. Whether gaining, loosing, or regaining True Faith, it should be treated as a strong dramatical turning point in a Character's development.